A little extra energy

Been feeling a little more energy this weekend. I actually got some work done around the house. The front door handle has been breaking for several weeks now (the little part that sticks into the door frame won't completely retract most of the time). Since the door already sticks, this means you can spend 2 minutes pushing down the tab on the outside (or twisting the handle on the inside) and pushing the door trying to get it to open. The house is 15 years old and so many things are falling apart - this is not even the only broken door.

This weekend I found a new door handle on mega clearance (and then my little sister paid for it! Yea! She picked up the tab for a few things since she's not paying me to alter her wedding dress). When we took off the old handle to put on the new we discovered they're not the same size and shapes. So I cleaned and painted the front door with primer to hide the old marks.

Still need to decide what color to paint it. Normally I'd do red, but the house is red brick and I think that would look wrong. Maybe forest green... hmm.

I've been working on altering my little sister's wedding dress (This is it, but hers now has lace straps, is 3 inches shorter, and has had the back adjusted to accommodate her enormous bosom and little ribs and waist - think Dolly Parton!), and it's kind of gotten me in a sewing mood.

My girls aren't in the wedding, but I let them buy semi-formals (at a resale shop of course) that they could wear again for the end of the school year dance. They were aided by one of Bob's friends. Bob's friend picked a black dress for Bob (and helped Kitty choose a black dress too). Probably before she even got home, Bob decided she didn't like the dress. Plus, my sister wasn't totally thrilled by the fact that the girl's dresses are black.

We went to a bridesmaid shop to see what Bob would have chosen if she had a lot of choices. We'd done this a couple of weeks before with Kitty to see what looked more flattering on her figure (not easy to do as Kitty is very busty and has a large belly). Bob of course fell in love with a $150 dress chiffon and satin dress (actually all the bridesmaid dresses seemed to be $150). Next thing I knew I was buying fabric! I am officially insane.

(Bob's dress will be a little more teal than this one, but this is the style.)

Now not only do I have to finish my sister's dress, fix my ugly Matron of Honor dress** by adding a lace inset to and mending it (I got it for 2 dollars cause it had a ripped out zipper), but I also have to make a fancy dress for my daughter... aaand... make ivory jackets for both girls to make their dresses more appropriate for the wedding, and lighten them up for a spring afternoon wedding. (Has to be both girls because if I don't do anything for Kitty she'll feel horribly abused. Her jacket will need to be fancier and "better" than Bob's to justify the fact that I made Bob's dress).

Yea, I'm nuts.

** My dress is not really ugly, but I hate the color. I love jewel tones and black. My dress is sort of a cafe au lait which matches the lace on my sister's dress. I hate browns and they don't look good on me. Plus the dress reminds me of "The Naked Bridesmaid." Back when I used to sew professionally I made a bridesmaid dress for a girl who had been given the fabric and pattern by an out of state bride. The dress was very form fitting. The color - cafe au lait. The girl's skin color? Also cafe au lait. She truly looked naked.

(To the right is "my" dress, but you have to imagine it in a size 18, with my ample bosum making the neckline practically obscene and pushing the shoulder straps off the shoulder. I'm adding a lace inset (from leftovers off the wedding gown) to cover my cleavage. I'll also be wearing "pearls" in the exact same Frappucino color (that's what the store calls it). The other bridesmaids (ages 7 and 5) will be wearing Ivory dresses with Frappucino accents. They both get tiaras like the bride. *pout*